The present invention relates in general to a central determination gaming system, and more particularly to a central determination gaming system with a keno game. The majority of the contemporary wagering gaming devices or gaming terminals randomly generate awards and other outcomes. Such gaming terminals typically include a relatively low probability associated with obtaining the highest award, relatively medium probabilities associated with obtaining medium range awards and relatively higher probabilities associated with obtaining low range awards. These gaming terminals also include probabilities associated with obtaining losses or no award at all. The probabilities of obtaining the awards and the amount of the awards determine the average expected pay out percentage of these wagering gaming terminals. Because the outcomes of these gaming terminals are completely randomly determined, there is no certainty that a player will ever obtain any particular award. That is, no matter how many times a player plays the game, since the gaming terminal generates outcomes randomly or completely based upon a probability calculation, there is no certainty that the game will ever provide the player with a rare outcome, such as a jackpot award, or any other specific value for that matter. On the other hand, due to the random determination, the gaming terminal can provide the rare outcomes, such as jackpot awards, numerous times in a small number of plays. For example, a probability-based $1 gaming terminal may be programmed to payback 95% of all wagers placed with a 1% chance of generating a $10 win outcome, a 5% chance of generating a $5 win outcome, a 10% chance of generating a $2 win outcome, a 40% chance of generating a $1 win outcome and a 44% chance of generating a $0 loss outcome. However, when one hundred game outcomes are generated by the probability-based gaming terminal, the actual payback may be 137% of all wagers placed and the actual generated outcomes may be six $10 win outcomes, one $5 win outcome, eighteen $2 win outcomes, thirty-six $1 win outcomes and thirty-nine $0 loss outcomes.
This uncertainty is faced by players and casinos or other gaming establishments. For example, certain casinos prefer that a relatively high number of players hit low awards while a relatively low number of players hit high awards. When players hit high awards periodically, casinos attract more players, because of the positive publicity large wins generate. By using desired payback percentages or probabilities, the casinos can also expect to make a certain level of profit. The random determinations can, however, unexpectedly cause casinos to suffer a loss or, on the other hand, to reap great profit in the short run and lose business in the long run due to a reputation for only paying out low awards.
Regulatory bodies in certain jurisdictions do not permit the use of probability-based gaming terminals, in part for these reasons. These regulatory bodies permit the use of wagering gaming terminals which are guaranteed to provide certain or definite awards, so that, for example, a certain number of wins is guaranteed and the overall amount paid back to players is guaranteed. That is, the payback percentage is fixed and not an average expected amount. One type of gaming terminal which complies with this requirement is an instant-type lottery gaming terminal. An instant-type lottery gaming terminal includes a finite pool or set of electronic tickets with each electronic ticket assigned to or having a predetermined outcome. Alternatively, each electronic ticket could be assigned to a random number or game play seed. Each seed is deterministic of a predetermined outcome. That is, the gaming terminal utilizes the random number or game play seed in a random number generating algorithm to generate random numbers that the gaming terminal then uses to determine and provide the predetermined outcome. In an instant-type lottery gaming terminal, as the predetermined outcome for each electronic ticket is revealed to a player on the gaming terminal, the ticket is removed (i.e., flagged as used) from the finite pool or set of electronic tickets. Once removed from the pool or set, a ticket cannot be used again to determine another game outcome. This type of gaming terminal provides players with all of the available outcomes over the course of the play cycle and guarantees the actual wins and losses.
Since an instant-type lottery gaming machine has a finite pool of predetermined win/loss outcomes, it is possible to configure the pool to specific conditions or criteria requested by the casino or gaming establishment. An example of these conditions or criteria are the number of tickets included in the pool and the exact payback percentage or payback sum for the pool as a whole. The payback percentage or sum represents the guaranteed payout for the entire pool of predetermined outcomes. Other examples of conditions or criteria are what prizes will be awarded and the frequency of winning outcome tickets amongst the total number of tickets for the pool. For example, if a predetermined pool includes twenty $1 tickets and the pool has a payback sum of $10, then the pool might consist of one $5 win outcome, one $2 win outcome, three $1 win outcomes and fifteen $0 loss outcomes and may be represented as the following outcomes: 5, 2, 1, 1, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0. It should be appreciated that the above described pool of twenty tickets is for illustration purposes only and a pool could include any suitable desired number of tickets including a large number such as one million or more.
Central determination gaming systems are also generally known. A central determination gaming system provides a plurality of individual gaming terminals, located in a gaming establishment, such as a casino, coupled by one or more communication links, to a central processor or controller. When a player plays a game on one of the gaming terminals, a game outcome is randomly generated based on probability data by the central controller. The generated game outcome and how the game outcome is to be presented or displayed to the player are communicated from the central controller to the individual gaming terminal and then provided to the player. It should be appreciated that one central processor may continuously run hundreds or thousands of individual gaming terminals at once. Additionally, each individual gaming terminal may include a plurality of different types of games played at a plurality of different denominations.
In order to comply with the above mentioned regulatory rules that do not permit the use of probability-based gaming terminals, central determination gaming systems have been implemented wherein the central system maintains one or more predetermined pools or sets of game outcomes. Each game outcome in each set or pool includes a game outcome component (i.e., a win, a lose, a secondary game trigger or other suitable outcome) with an associated value or payout amount, if any, and a game presentation component (i.e., how the game outcome is displayed or presented to the player). In these systems, when a player makes a wager on one of the gaming devices, the central system independently selects a game outcome from a set or pool of game outcomes and flags or marks the selected game outcome as used. Once a game outcome is flagged as used, it is prevented from further selection from the set or pool and cannot be selected by the central controller upon another wager. The selected game outcome is communicated to the individual gaming terminal. The individual gaming terminal displays or presents the game presentation component and provides the player the game outcome component with the associated value, if any, for the selected game outcome. Additionally, certain central determination gaming systems have also been implemented wherein the central system maintains one or more predetermined pools or sets of random number or game outcome seeds.
There are a number of advantages to providing for centralized production of game outcomes at individual gaming terminals. Central production or control can assist a casino or other entity in maintaining appropriate records, controlling gaming, reducing and preventing cheating or electronic or other errors, reducing or eliminating win-loss volatility and the like.
Gaming devices having a primary or base game and a secondary or a bonus game are also well known. A secondary or bonus game may be any type of suitable game, either similar to or completely different from the primary game, which is entered upon the occurrence of a triggering event or a selected outcome in the primary game. The secondary or bonus game enables the player to obtain a prize or payout in addition to the prize or payout, if any, obtained from the primary game. A secondary or bonus game may produce a significantly higher level of player excitement than the primary game because it provides a greater expectation of winning than the primary game and is accompanied with more attractive or unusual features than the primary game.
Keno games are also generally known. Keno is similar to a lottery game. The goal, like a lottery, is to choose a winning number or winning numbers from a plurality of numbers. In most standard versions of paper or video based Keno, the player receives a card with eighty squares numbered one to eighty, arranged in rows of ten. The player can bet on any number or numbers, up to a designated amount, such as fifteen numbers, which the player does by marking selected numbers on a Keno card or selecting the numbers on a keno display. A clerk or the processor of the video display records the player's bet(s), wherein the player pays for each number played or wagered.
In the casino version, the Keno numbers also appear on eighty ping pong type balls, which can be tossed about in a clear plastic sphere or spun around in a wire bird cage. In an alternative video version, a computer using a random number generator generates the Keno numbers. When a number is chosen, the number is shown electronically on Keno boards throughout the casino or on the video display. An award is provided to the player based on the amount of matches between the player selected number(s) and the game generated number(s).
Known variations of Keno, for example ‘multi-race’ keno, ‘walk away’ keno and ‘way’ ticket keno, do not affect the mathematics, payout or expected return of the game. It does not mathematically matter how many numbers the player chooses or if the player combines wagers. The player can choose less numbers if the player likes to win a smaller amount but a little more often. The player can choose more numbers if the player does not care about the frequency of the wins but wants bigger payouts.
As the game outcome in a keno game is randomly determined and the game outcome in a central determination gaming system is predetermined, no known keno game has been implemented with a central determination gaming system. That is, in a keno game since the game or gaming terminal randomly generates at least one and preferably a plurality of numbers, the game outcome provided to the player is therefore also randomly determined (i.e., based on the number or amount of player picked numbers that match the game or gaming terminal randomly generated numbers). On the other hand, the game outcomes of a game in a central determination gaming system are not randomly determined, but are predetermined and stored in a set or pool until being provided to the player. Therefore, a need exists for a central determination keno gaming system that enables the player to play any available numbers, enables the game or gaming terminal to randomly generate any of the available numbers and still provides a predetermined game outcome to the player.